


Dusk Stars

by cherishiggy



Series: Self-Contained Universe [3]
Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Language of Flowers, M/M, Strip Tease, bathing together, i kept it sfw no worries, if you need galo rubbing his boobs in your life you gotta write it yourself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:56:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21511411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherishiggy/pseuds/cherishiggy
Summary: Ever since they moved in together, or rather, Lio just started to stay over at Galo's for longer and longer until suddenly, Galo couldn't imagine his apartment without him, Lio has been discovering the joys of not having the need to nomadize from a place to place and living rooted in the center of civilization.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Series: Self-Contained Universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1530419
Comments: 10
Kudos: 114





	Dusk Stars

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from [the soundtrack named Dusk Stars](https://youtu.be/dsoOxrCqbmg) of the indie game Night In The Woods. Alec Holowka, you have composed a wonderful soundtrack, and listening to even a single track from it, especially Dusk Stars, to this day feels like coming back home. Thank you, and rest in peace.

Ever since they moved in together, or rather, Lio just started to stay over at Galo's for longer and longer until suddenly, Galo couldn't imagine his apartment without him, Lio has been discovering the joys of not having the need to nomadize from a place to place and living rooted in the center of civilization.

The small bakery under their windows huddled and drowning in lush greenery that has the most wonderful cookies Lio's ever tried. The countless parks with bubbly fountains and comfortable benches that are so easy to snooze on while Galo's busy playing fetch with the Burning Rescue's charming dalmatian, Newbie. The abundance of all sorts of bath bombs and sweet-smelling soaps of every color imaginable and bath salts.

Especially the latter part.

Galo finds Lio relaxing in the bathtub after his shift at the Burning Rescue ended early, the smell of some kind of bath salt thick in the humid air. Galo's not a connoisseur of flowery stuff unlike Lio, his knowledge of flowers could be described by the number of fingers on one hand, that's about how many flowers he knows by names. And that's not even taking other stuff like language of flowers into account. So he just settles on thinking of the fragrance as 'pleasant'.

Lio lazily shifts his eyes to Galo, not even dignifying him with a turn of his head, and beckons him with a small smile. Galo doesn't need to be told twice.

Now, Galo's often the one to be described as an elephant in a china shop, but he can put on a show with all grace of a slim borzoi if he puts his mind to it, thank you very much.

He steps closer, for the bathroom lights to frame him just so and for Lio to see him better, and pinches his shirt between his teeth to have better access to the array of utility belts on his hips holding up the pouches. Lio inhales sharply before him, and Galo smiles to himself, knowing full well how much Lio enjoys seeing the muscles roll underneath his tan skin as he undresses.

The pouches are tossed onto the floor, and it's the uniform pants' turn. Galo sets his left foot onto the rim of the bath, right next to Lio's face as he slides the bright-red fabric off his thighs. Lio turns in the water to face Galo fully and press his cheek against Galo's ankle, almost nuzzling against it and tickling it with blond bangs. Only Lio doesn't have the chance to get comfortable while laying his head against Galo's leg, because with a soft "careful, babe" Galo takes the pants off of that leg too and sets it back onto the floor. A careless idea comes to his mind, and Galo twirls the pants on his finger, breaking the character of a seductive stripper somewhat, but Lio's resting his head on folded hands with a fond smile nonetheless.

Fingers fanning out against taut skin, catching at the peaked nipples and finally reaching the end of the shirt, Galo takes it off with a swing of his forearms and catches it in the air. Almost naked with only a few articles of clothing left on and far more body open for Lio to ogle, Galo decides to treat him and squeezes a pec in his palm. It rolls around, smooth skin against callouses, and Galo catches a nipple to spice things up and squeezes it as well, then again, and again. As it gets raw, darkens under his fingers, so does the slight blush spreading to his ears. Lio seems to appreciate the show, Galo can't see Lio's face with his eyes closed, but he hears the splash of his body edging closer and a catch in Lio's breath loud and clear.

Well, how that his audience is heated up, he can move on to the star of the show. Palms kneading across his pectorals, Galo's fingers creep closer to the strap of the compression sleeve and tug it over his head, and then tug off the rest of it. Galo outlines his tan lines, sighing, relaxing into his touch. He hopes Lio is on the edge of his seat.

With a hum, Galo dances his fingers down his abs, outlining the rough surface of each one and the blue hair along with them, snaps the elastic band of his low-cut boxers.

Scratch the heat of the bathroom, Galo feels like nice, smoking tinder, almost pinned in place under Lio's stare. Or like a piece of wood under the lens that is concentrating the sun's rays on him. Or something. Galo's not that good with metaphors. Lio traces every millimeter of his movement as he slides off his boxers down his thighs, gaze heavy, and Galo's so, so surprised this had such an effect on him, but hey. He isn't complaining in the slightest, he reasons, that was the goal and it all went smooth! Score.

Galo preens a little, twirling his boxers on an index finger and playing with his nipples a little more, just to tease Lio, just to make him wait. But in the end, he's the one whose patience runs thin, and he tosses the boxers into the laundry basket as well.

"Comin' in hot!" proclaims Galo, and dips into the water. Or rather, since he's a little bit of a weenie, he does it part by part, first the toes, then the shins, bit by bit behind Lio and sliding his legs around Lio's hips. Somewhat of a tight fit, but hey, it's comfier that way.

Lio laughs as Galo gets in the bath behind him, "You show-off!" And Lio's damn right, but as if he's one to talk. Lio leans his back onto him as soon as he's in. "...Though I won't deny I enjoyed your little show," murmurs Lio, cuddling under Galo's jaw.

Lio always takes his baths and showers like this, water so scalding the mirror and the wall tiles fog and there's steam billowing off his skin for a solid minute after he gets out. But Galo doesn't really mind. He's been tempered by the harshest, whitest of fires, after all! He can take those scalding showers and baths with Lio together and kiss the steam off his skin afterward, no problem. And plus, he quite likes it, as if a fire is ablaze under Lio's skin, and it is one of the rare moments Galo gets to be the one sapping the heat from Lio instead of otherwise.

Galo lays soft kisses on the crown of Lio's head while he curls his arms around Lio's shoulders. He doesn't flinch anymore when Lio traces the constellations of the scar tissue on his left arm, free from the compression sleeve. Lio finds a weird sort of solace in outlining the long ago memorized scars of Galo's, a grounding sort of reminder that he's just as human now, and soon enough some of his wounds will whiten, scar, just like Galo's.

Galo plucks his index finger that has just finished outlining an elbow, mimics climbing with his other fingers, "climbs" along Lio's finger till he reaches the palm. Galo holds it and moves it just over Lio's shoulder so he can press butterfly-light kisses along the knuckles.

Lio melts into his casual affection, water splashing a bit around him, and begins his explanation on the meaning behind the flowers that are in the bath salt he's used today. His tone is hushed and intimate, the one reserved for Galo and Galo only. Vanilla, or rather, the vanilla orchid, is thought to be a symbol of virility, hibiscus meant the giver acknowledged the receiver's delicate beauty. This is a habit they have between them, whenever Lio gets something new and floral for the baths, he always takes his time to explain the meaning every flower in the ingredients has in the language of the flowers, absentmindedly tracing circles and fate lines on Galo's palms while he listens.

Whenever Lio explains something, something very near and dear to him, he always gets like this, lost in his memories, quiet, leaning into Galo's touches. And it's always a treat, Galo enjoys listening to the little trivia, those facts that have very specific uses in the real world and therefore would be almost useless, but it's Lio that's telling them, they are near and dear to him, and that automatically makes them near and dear to Galo as well.

While Lio shifts the conversation to the local botanical garden without putting much thought into it, noting how the lemons and limes finally began to bloom, Galo tugs his hands away from Lio's grasp to pet at his back. Well, would you look at that. Paperwork has left a lot of knots and tightness in Lio's shoulders, the kind of thing Galo ab-so-lu-te-ly cannot stand feeling under his cheek when he hugs Lio's back as they go to sleep.

A nonverbal conversation ensues, both of them having a unionized moment of laziness, too tired for now to put much thought into constructing even the simplest of sentences. Galo hums with a questioning raise of his tone at the end, making a small rubbing motion on Lio's shoulder blade, and Lio hums back, shoulder slacking into Galo's palm. So, a yes. Galo is happy to oblige!

Soon enough, both of his tan palms are working in tandem, squeezing the skin, thumbs pressing in deep. Firm rubs into the depth of Lio's muscle fiber has him _moaning_ in satisfaction, skin raising in goosebumps. He even slides a little under the water, body lax as a noodle, the ends of his hair fanning around them in the water.

"I'll have to massage the kinks out of your palms as well when we move to the bed," murmurs Galo.

When Galo's done, they goof around a little in the cooling water, splashing in the confined space, bumping their knees into the walls of the tub and each other, getting droplets of water in their hair, and both ending up absolutely, childishly delighted.

Galo slides out of the quickly cooling water, shakes off the water onto the rug like a golden retriever, and pats himself down with a towel, his ankles especially, because have you walked around your apartment when the heating is sparse and the cold is waiting right outside the bathroom door to bite at your slightly wet skin?

As Galo turns around, he notes Lio's still sitting in the bathtub. Probably's been busy admiring his wet ass.

"Hey, babe, come on. The water's getting cold, it ain't good for ya to sit in that for long."

"No-o-o-o, I d'n wanna," slurs Lio stubbornly, cheek pressed into the rim of the bathtub purposefully to make his words hard to discern.

"Babe," Galo says with his tone a little bit more stern.

Lio answers with words now entirely muffled by the rim of the tub as he smushes his face into it a little. Well, if he's gonna be like that...

Galo lifts him from the bathtub by his armpits with countless arches of water splattering onto the floor and the bathroom rug as his hold shifts to the bridal carry and Lio playfully swats at his hands.

"Galo, you dummy, we're going to have to take care of that puddle!"

"Yup! But for now, let's getcha to bed, and we'll take care of the mess tomorrow morning."

"Fi-i-ine. Now onwards, my steed!" Lio flicks his wet hair over his shoulder and points in the direction of their bedroom. Galo grabs a bathrobe, and they're off.

Galo, like a fine steed, stomps about their apartment, making a slight detour for the kitchen only for Lio to sniff and remind him "bedroom, please", and only then does Galo takes them both to their original destination.

Galo spares a little glance down as he's opening the bedroom door, and Lio is just laying in his hold, staring off somewhere, blinking slowly, owlishly, clearly not quite there and a little tired from a busy day. Adorable.

At Galo's excited "we have arrived, my prince!" Lio perks up a little. Galo sets him on the bed and hands him the bathrobe. As he's watching Lio put it on, the ties keep slipping out of Lio's hands, again and again, so Lio just scoffs at their insubordination and flops back onto the bed like that, the sides of the robe only slightly kept together and revealing some of his pink, still steamy skin.

Galo can't help but snicker and pepper little kisses into Lio's wet mop of hair, then unfurl the middle of the bathrobe and blow raspberries into Lio's stomach, and he _squeals_ and tries to push Galo's head away, but no one's bested the great Galo Thymos in the raspberry-blowing matches, much less Lio! So Lio has to surrender, gasping between hiccups, face flushed.

Absolutely. Adorable.

Galo cannot hold himself back from another round of silly smooches once Lio's caught his breath and tamed the hiccup fit, holding his cheeks between his palms wrinkled from water and heat and steam. Just as Galo's descending to Lio's clavicle, he feels something gently hitting the top of his head.

"Huh? What's up, babe?" He turns his face up to look at Lio, maybe he's had enough of the silly games and wants to continue reading his book or somethin', or go to sleep--

_Oh god._

Well, it is hard to embarrass Lio this much, but he manages such a feat. Lio has just unintentionally hit him with his elbow while moving his hands to cover his flushed face, and now he's mumbling from underneath them, "Galo, sto-o-op, I can't take it anymore! Go flush the bathtub if you're so full of energy, I'm done for the day. Shoo, you big puppy."

A big, goofy grin cracks across Galo's face, "Hold up. Are you flustered?"

"Mmphhph."

"Can't hear ya."

Lio peeks an eye out from between his fingers, rolls it at Galo, then uncovers his face fully to show him his tongue. Well, Lio clearly showed him.

To let Lio know just how much he showed him, Galo gently kisses him, slow and easy, just like the steam evaporating off of Lio's skin in lazy wisps, small pecks that grow into their tongues mingling. Lio tastes like the cookies from that bakery downstairs, like late spring strawberries he's taken a liking to, like dreams. Galo can't get enough of him, he thinks as he's cradling Lio's head in his palm.

Well, he's definitely not going anywhere anytime soon, Galo deduces as Lio entangles him with his arms and rubs his undercut and pets the back of his neck and jeez he's kind of everywhere, just like the hot, humid air of their bathroom, isn't he. It isn't as though Galo minds, the wet slide of Lio's lips against his own is something he could get lost in for hours on end.

Galo whines as Lio parts from him with a particularly sloppy sound and a strand of saliva hanging between them, borderline obscene. He doesn't want to let go of Lio just yet.

Lio clears his throat, licks his lips that are totally not kiss-swollen, and says with a voice that's totally not rough from kissing, "To answer your previous question, no, I am not flustered. Now off with you, before I kiss you too, but _harder_ ".

Oh, what a tantalizing threat that is. But Galo's a good boy, so he salutes and with a "yessir!" he's off to do exactly that, a jolly spring to his step. But not before he presses another dozen or so kisses along the expanse of Lio's cheeks, the tip of his nose and his forehead messy with the wet strands of hair stuck to it all the while Lio grumbles about butterflies in his stomach.

**Author's Note:**

> You see these two characters? The badass biker prince and the fearless, boisterous firefighter? Yep, every time I touch them it's gonna be cheesy mushy stuff cuz I'm in dire need of it. I require the fluff to function. ...Well, not "every time" really, I have a big monster AU fic in the works, it isn't going to be as teeth-rotting, I promise.
> 
> It was [Taki's](https://mobile.twitter.com/taki_bert) idea to name the Burning Rescue's dalmatian "Newbie", by the way :3c Roughly translating the short little backstory he also made up in the process - "basically the doggo's name is Newbie, and at the same day that [the Burning Rescue] took him into the third BR team, Galo's been unequivocally promoted and no longer called a newbie (curiously enough, Lio hasn't been called a newbie even on his first day of work at BR). Originally Galo wanted to name him something along the lines of KEYNINEARSONFIGHTER but Varys smacked him upside the head and so Ignis named the dalmatian Newbie". 
> 
> I remember reading somewhere that Lio was raised by the British nobility, not just in Britain, and let's say that for convenience's sake, in that universe they still heed of the Victorian traditions of upbringing, so therefore Lio's fairly fluent in language of flowers as it was a pretty chic way of communicating in that time period. There we go, headcanon yeeted out of my system.
> 
> [Tungle](https://tumblr.com/blog/cherishiggy) | [Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/cherishiggy)


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